


EWFM: Alternate Ending

by strawberryrosewood



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: ..or both, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Anyways, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Eddsworld Fan Movie, Fix-It Fic But I Made It Worse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Pain, Rewrite, edd and tord are exes, edd has green/brown heterochromia !!!!! i finally put it in a fic guys are yall proud of me, give me eddpaul or give me death, hope u enjoy <3, i have so much fucking brainrot for these 2 and theres very little content of them, just. so much pain, link to the fan movie is also in the notes bc yknow its Important here, link to the original fic in the notes, most characters tagged are only mentioned this is basically just edd and paul, no proofread before posting ... we die like men, per usual in my ewfm colabrows fics, this is also just a more fleshed out version of a fic on my tumblr based off of an anon, this is based off of that one paultryck comic where paul is dying and pat is dragging him away, youll know which one i mean when you read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27716156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryrosewood/pseuds/strawberryrosewood
Summary: It can't end here. Not if Edd can do anything about it.Keyword, if.
Relationships: Edd/Paul (Eddsworld), Edd/Tord (Eddsworld)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 13





	EWFM: Alternate Ending

**Author's Note:**

> original fic/posting: https://strawberryrosewood.tumblr.com/post/631924767625232384/you-know-that-paultryk-comic-where-paul-tells-pat
> 
> ewfm link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI5sQ_pXO6s&feature=youtu.be

It's a bright, sunny afternoon in England, and Edd is currently running away from the beginnings of a war.

It's not the type of thing he'd usually do, honestly. Usually, in the face of mortal threats like these, he's at the front lines, kicking ass alongside his friends. Usually, he's not one to abandon people to fight a battle that he technically started. Usually, he's prepared for this sort of thing.

Usually, he isn't one to drop everything he's doing to carry a nameless, dying man to the nearest hospital, leaving his friends to stop a war on their own. But, then again, between the worldwide discovery of aliens, the American government involving itself in asinine war plans, and the slowly-encroaching possible death of a man he cares so much about it scares him, nothing about today is very usual. So maybe, just for today, for the fifteen minutes he needs to run to the nearest ER room, he gets a pass.

Everything had happened so fast, had all occurred in a strange blur of gunfire and the sound of helicopters and distant screams, that Edd was already halfway through downtown London when the weight of what he had done truly hit him. He watched his friends charge towards a foreign military; he watched blue-clad reinforcements come to their aid at the push of a button; he watched everyone run past him towards the very people who had just tried to kill him and, ultimately, shot the man slowly bleeding in his arms.

He hadn't thought about Matt, or Tom, or McCoy, or even himself, really. He simply picked up the scruffy, slowly dying soldier lying in the grass, and sprinted off towards the nearest hospital he could think of. Even here, running through far-off downtown London, he could hear the distant sound of screams and gunfire a little ways away. He was sure bystanders were taking notice, but he didn't have it in him to focus on that, or his friends, or anything other than himself, his soldier, and an ER room a mile or two away. The adrenaline coursing through his veins was doing a hell of a job pushing him through the trek, but he could already feel his legs getting tired, his lungs burning from a lack of rest.

The soldier in his arms, at least, was both a good overall motivator and distraction from the physical toll he was enduring.

_Distraction,_ through his woozy little jokes and comments about neon-bright signs and far-off buildings, through observation about the color of Edd's hair and the mismatched green-brown of his eyes, through the pair of strong arms gripping his shoulders that weakened by the second.

_Motivator,_ through the still-bleeding gunshot wound in his chest, through his slowly paling face, through Edd's own determination to not let someone like him die.

It's when Edd is stopped at a crossroads, trying desperately to remember if the hospital was on Clover Street or Holly Lane, that the soldier finally speaks to him directly, and not just through distant, half-hearted comments and weak jokes about the scenery around him. It's almost like he's found clarity. Edd can't decide if that's a good sign or a bad sign.

"I have a seecreeet," he mumbles in a strange, sing-songy tone. He's leaning against Edd's chest, and he isn't looking up at him.

Edd makes a right, towards Clover Street.

"'m not allowed t' tell you my name. I was _strichly_ told it wasn' allowed."

Edd registers that he's slurring now, and attempts to pick up the pace, much to his legs' collective dismay.

"Paul," he says. "My name's actually _Paul._ I feel like you sh'd know that, Edd."

Paul. It's a nice name. Now Edd knows what to tell the hospital.

"I gotsa few more secrets to tell y', Edd," Paul manages out, and Edd is hanging onto every word like his life depends on it. He runs down a block and takes a left. He continues.

"I don't... I don't work for the milishtary. Not the U.S. one. I work for th' Reds Armsy." He pauses, and then, realizing Edd doesn't know what that means, adds, "Tord. He wanted me to keep you safe. 'm real sorry I couldn't'a told y' that sooner."

Hearing Tord's name makes Edd's heart freeze in his chest, and in the strangest way, this admission feels like a betrayal of some kind. Maybe it's because it had to be _kept_ from him. Maybe it's simply because Tord's involved in this mess. But maybe, just maybe, it's because none of his time spent together with Paul was _real,_ none of it truly genuine or out of a real desire to save or spend time with Edd; just a set of orders, a mission set by a man Edd never wants to see again.

Edd had thought he was special to Paul, but not in this way. Never in this way.

He rounds another corner, runs across a semi-busy street and ignores the honking of horns in his wake. Or was that just more gunshots? He can't tell. His ears are ringing from exhaustion.

And then Edd's heart sinks in his chest as he comes to a realization. He can't stay mad at Paul for working for Tord. Not now, anyways. Maybe not ever.

He can see the hospital in the distance.

"I- I'm telling you all of this fors'a reason, Edd, and it's not jus' because I'm bleedin' out over he-ere-"

He coughs, hoarsely, and his entire body shakes in Edd's arms. He isn't doing well, and Edd knows it, and he's silently begging whatever god is out there to keep Paul with him for a few moments more.

"-It's because, even after just a day, I know you deserve the truth from me, 'n so much more."

Edd doesn't know what that means, but they're so close to the hospital that he just lets Paul keep talking.

"But.. I have one more secret. But it's nots'a secret, and it never was, and as fars'as I'ms concerned, I want all the world to know this one right here."

Paul reaches a hand up, clutches to the fabric of Edd's shirt.

"You're truly wonderful, Edd. You're kind, you're- you're _funny._ You're carrying a man you just met to the hopsital as we speak." He pauses to cough again, and it sounds even worse this time. "I-- I can see why Tord wanted me to protect you. You're real special."

And then Edd scoffs, and he doesn't know why, because it's clearly not the time or place to debate this kind of thing, but he replies, "Paul, you aren't thinking straight. You don't know what you're saying anymore--"

"But I _do,_ Edd. I know _damn well_ what I'm saying, slurred speech 'n blood loss be damned, 'n I want you to know that I mean this with all my heart."

Just a few more minutes, and they'll be in the hospital. Edd hears an especially large boom a distance aways. He hears cheering, and regardless of who is cheering, he despises the sound more than anything else he can think of.

"You're kind, you're gorgeous, 'n you're wonderful. So, _so_ wonderful. 'N when I see you now, I _know_ you're the man I want to spend my entire life with."

And then Edd's heart skips a beat in his chest, and it flutters in a way that he hasn't felt in years.

And then it hurts, because he _knows_ why Paul is doing this now. He knows _why_ Paul is telling him all of this, because he knows the truth better than Edd does. Even now, there's a tiny voice in the back of Edd's head telling him, and Edd is doing everything to bury it and never let it speak until he gets to those damn ER doors.

He has to stop to let traffic pass by, and that's when he realizes the hand that was once clutching to his shirt has made its way up, slowly, towards his face. Paul places his hand on Edd's cheek and turns his face to look to his. And then Paul smiles, weakly, and Edd doesn't even realize he's been crying until he feels him wipe a tear away from his face.

"I'm serious, Edd," he begins, his voice firm but whisper soft, "if I make it out of this alive, then I want nothing more than to marry you."

His hand falls, and Edd looks away, and he's definitely crying now, and he crosses the street and _he's almost there, please, just hang on-_

Paul nuzzles into Edd's chest, taking in the warmth of his embrace one last time. He closes his eyes. He's tired. So, so tired.

"but if this is how it ends, I think I'm fine with that, too."

Edd finally crosses the threshold into the emergency rom, and he doesn't even realize that Paul's gone still.


End file.
